Page 80 of Reckless
25
Gage
“This place is…red,” Kelly said, her eyes large in her face as she took in the restaurant aptly named Scarlett.
Red walls were greeted by red ceilings draped with red tulle, offset by a sitting area with deep red couches. In the middle of the room, where there should have been enough tables to fill the elite restaurant, stood one single table draped in red, of course, with red candles aflame.
“I feel like I’m inside a womb,” Kelly whispered.
I looked around as the maitre d’ escorted us to the table. “It looks to me more like a murder.”
She tittered, actually tittered. Was the room making her nervous? I’d heard that red made your appetite more voracious, but if that was true, I wasn’t sure if a person could ever stop eating surrounded by this much stimulation.
“I love it!” Kelly bounced onto her tiptoes, giving me a nice view of tight calf muscles accentuated by the four-inch heels she wore with a silvery halter dress. “Do you dine like this all the time?” Her eyes didn’t stop flickering around the room, taking it all in.
I wondered if I’d been that way when I first came to New York City. “I don’t usually rent out a whole restaurant, if that’s what you’re asking. Tonight is about us. I thought bringing you to the love room might make up for a few Valentines dates I missed.”
Her eyes widened, and she laughed. “The love room?”
“Only romance at its best for my girl.” I made a sweeping gesture, the flames of the candles on our table jumping and moving with the air flow. “What’s the point of having money and clout if I can’t use it on the one I—” My heart did a near-suicidal flop in my chest. I gave her a tight smile and pulled her chair out, helping her into her seat. “Now, what do you want off the wine list?”
Kelly’s eyes got even larger. “The last time I had wine was Boone’s Farm, with you…”
I laughed, remembering the night we drove out to the place in New Hope where everyone went to park and drank a little too much of the strawberry wine. We both woke up with terrible hangovers.
“I’ll take care of it,” I said as the sommelier stopped at our table and did a half-bow. “We’ll have theChateau Bellevue, please.” He left to fill our order. “It’s amazing.”
“Yeah?” She nodded slowly, her eyes on me now. “It’s all amazing.”
I watched as Kelly sipped her wine, the red even deeper than the red room. She looked out of her element, like she was nervous, and she had no reason to be. I took her hands and rubbed my thumb over hers, watching her relax just a little.
“I’ll order us the steak, it’s absolute magic.” I wanted Kelly to get the best of the best.
The waiter appeared at the table as if he knew I was ready to order. The restaurant was incredible, the night holding a magic that came of sitting across the table from Kelly. It was a night that I’d never dreamed would actually happen.
“I’m glad the tour is finally done.” I leaned back in my chair, the stress of being in a different city every other day finally beginning to fade away. “Being back in the studio will be grueling, but at least I can go home every night.”
And maybe come home to you every night.
Not that I’d ask her to stay outright. When she made that choice, I wanted it to be on her terms. I wanted her to be sure, like I was. The restaurant, the concert last night, were all part of a plan to be patient until she decided she wanted to stay.
“It really never stops for you, does it? Don’t you ever get time off?”
“Studio recording timeistime off. I take a week here and there, but it’s rare. The band keeps me very busy.”
Our appetizer arrived, ricotta and hazelnut honey crostini. Kelly smiled, her warmth making me desperately want that old ease between us, the comfort of me and Kelly just being together.
“So, is everyone at the hospital missing you?”
“I’ve been kept up-to-date by Millie. Everything seems fine.” She blinked a few times, and I wondered if she was a little homesick.
“Doyoumiss it?”
“Yes,” she sighed, her eyes becoming wistful. I stiffened. I couldn’t expect her to jump right into my way of life overnight and forget about her own life at home. “I don’t think it misses me though. It’ll be almost strange to go back Sunday.”
My heart thumped so hard I thought it was going to flop out of my chest and onto the table. Maybe she would be open to staying. “I’m happy you’re here.”
“Oh, so am I. It’s just…” She looked away, studying the line of bottles on the antique tiered shelf above the bar. “I have my own place now, and I know Mom is fine, it’s just kinda hard to adjust.”
